Jack Wilshere admits he considered quitting football during his injury torment.
West Ham midfielder Wilshere, 27, has battled injuries throughout his career having been destined for the very top at Arsenal .
His last few years at the Emirates were plagued by niggles while he made just four Premier League starts for West Ham after arriving last summer.
Wilshere admits one injury had a greater impact than others after spending eight months out of the Arsenal side in 2015.
But the ill health of his son Archie, who was just four at the time, led to him considering giving up football.
"It was tough to take because I was making my way back to where I wanted to be and all of a sudden my four-year-old son was having seizures on the floor," he told Athlete's Stance.
"I just forgot about football. I remember saying to my wife, "I’m not sure I can do this any more."'
"For the first four, five months of that rehab I didn't want to be rehabbing, I was in and out of hospitals, I wasn’t sleeping with my son, and I didn’t really care, to be honest with you, because my main focus was him. I sort of switched off from the outside world a little bit."
Wilshere returned to fitness at the end of the season for West Ham and made the bench in their final few matches.
And he hopes he can have an impact at the London Stadium next term.
He added: "I want to play for as long as possible. I genuinely do love football, it’s my life. It’s my kids’ life, it’s my family’s life, we're a football family. My goal is to get back in the team and win as many games as possible."
